Something serious for a change....

Relaxing at home with a cup of hot tea in the morning and thinking about what to blog about after a pretty long hiatus, my eyes fell on the day’s Hindu paper. An extremely shocking picture stared back at me from the first page. It jolted me out of my half- sleep. It was too much to take right after the Hyderabad blasts and the gory pictures splashed across front pages of almost all the leading dailies. And it set me thinking about the state of our country and the world at large. The very concept of some kind of “humanitarian consideration” seems to have been forgotten. How can people stoop to such levels? How can a crowd of people just stand and watch when a fellow human being (forget the fact that he was a petty thief) is being subjected to something so inhuman? How can people who are purported to be “law- enforcers”, be so ruthless in dealing with a mere thief? And most of all how come the “journalist” who captured the entire scene not raise even the most feeble voice in protest against this brutal act?

The NHRC has reacted “vehemently” to this “gross violation of human rights”, but one is left wondering what good it will do. Because it is not just a body called the NHRC who should be conscious about these things but the entire group of people called “Indians”. Why have people become so callous about things? A group of people once known for their compassion and tolerance, we Indians have been reduced to brutes devoid of anything humane. I wonder about the cause as much as I worry about the effects.

India is a country of paradoxes. Look at this- a film star walks out on bail within a few days of imprisonment whereas a poor thief who must most probably have been forced to steal because of his circumstances is subjected to the most merciless torture. Policemen wait in queue to congratulate the star (who has committed a far more serious offence than the poor thief), get his autograph and hug him as he leaves whereas they have no second thoughts about meting out the most inhuman punishment to a boy who has committed the “most grievous crime” of trying to steal a gold chain. Well status and money are determinants of the kind of treatment you get these days I guess.

Talking about the callousness of people I am reminded of many instances in the past. Think back to the schoolgirl who was raped in a local train in Mumbai in full view of a compartment half- full of people. Think of the girl who was set on fire by her jilted lover again in Mumbai as the crowd watched dispassionately and journalists were busy getting the best shots for their newspapers and channels. Think of the many other victims who feature in the news for a while till something “juicier” pops up on the scene. They capture our attention for a while before they move out, only to be replaced by others.

Coming back to the victim of the Bhagalpur violence, Salim Iliyas, there are many facts about him that have remained beyond the media glare. An orphan, he lives with his 14year old sister. Forced to learn weaving at the tender age of 14 he later took to pulling a rickshaw as it paid him better (Better was 50- 100 rupees a day). The lure of a better life pushed him to petty crimes, which according to the police make him a “habitual criminal”. Newspaper reports say that two FIR’s have been filed- one against Salim for chain snatching and another against the mob who assaulted him. No action has been taken against the policemen who were hand in glove with the mob. Meanwhile dirty politics is already at work with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar charging Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav of conspiring to instigate a communal riot (in the middle of all this that’s all he can think about- mud slinging).

When will India change, one wonders. Not anytime soon.